Paths from our world to the world of the Bible
Jesus talks in the book of John of pita-type bread from a stone oven, water drawn by bucket from a well, and oil lamps. We eat bread, drink water, and use lights. But what was the difference in these elements in our day and in Jesus’ day? How did that difference impact their meaning for us?
Bread
People of Jesus’ day ate mostly bread for a meal. Bread made up by volume a third to a half of the diet of people of Jesus day. How representative of that diet was the offering of the boy at the feeding of the 5,000: Five loaves and two fishes? Would that have been ten or more to one in volume? Vegetables, meat and fruit were additions. Bread was baked nearly every day, either in the home or in a neighborhood oven. By NT times some cities had bakers to selling bread for those who could afford it. Grinding grain for flour was a weekly task. Typical daily bread was similar to our pita bread.
Loaves of bread were for special occasions. Very detailed instructions appear in Talmudic writings (Jewish commentary on scripture) for baking the loaves of shewbread for the temple (Exodus 25:30). Records do not make clear how similar that was to baking at home in NT times. What proportion of your meal is bread? Do you think Jesus would have called himself the “bread of life” given today’s use of bread?
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 (NET)
Water
The scarcity of water in the region was a very old problem in Palestine. Isaac had conflicts with neighbors over wells. Moses lost the opportunity to enter the Promised Land due to stress over finding water for the people of God. Settlement of the central hilly area of Palestine around the time that the Hebrews returned from Egypt was limited until a plaster for cisterns was developed to make water storage effective. Walking to the well (probably daily) to lower and raise a wooden or skin bucket to fill one’s jar and carry it back to the village (like the Samaritan woman) and to one’s home took time. We stop at a water fountain in public buildings, buy a bottle of water produced hundreds of miles away or twist a faucet handle and quickly fill a glass. How amazed do you think a first century follower of Jesus would be at this? How much more would they be drawn to Jesus to receive “the water I give them” (John 4:14)?
Light
In New Testament time the Sabbath began when one could no longer tell the difference between a white and a black thread. As the story of the wise and foolish virgins illustrates, keeping one’s (probably clay) lamp supplied with sufficient oil to maintain the light was a challenge.
Today lights are available at the flip of a switch. Some people are in the habit of flipping on lights throughout their living quarters when they enter for psychological reasons. At Lowes (or other big box store) there is a wall of light bulbs nearly fifty feet long followed by several rows of different types of lights. Lights have become a pollution issue for astronomers. Seeing the stars is difficult in some areas due to too many lights. A greenhouse operator lost an entire crop of poinsettias when a lighted parking lot was built next-door keeping the poinsettias from having the necessary twelve hours of darkness for color development. Today, John 9:4 “… the night comes, when no one can work” makes little sense to us. Many people work at night whether they want to or not. When Jesus spoke to his people they were celebrating the relighting the temple lamp after the Jewish victory over the Syrians 150 years earlier. In a world where light was scarce, Jesus announces that he is the light, not just of the temple, but also of the world.
Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world!The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”John 8:12 (NET)
Can you put yourself in the shoes of Jesus followers who ate flat bread baked daily, drew water from deep wells maybe a quarter mile away and got light from clay lamps?
Compost & Grace 